(Reuters) - When
they saw the house on El Dorado Drive in this Los Angeles suburb being
painted a startling orange and green and giant billboards hung on the
outside, Scott and Beth Hostetler's neighbors were initially angry and
confused. Some even considered calling the police.

But what they witnessed on
Friday was not an offensive redecoration decision by the Hostetlers, but
rather the debut of one of the more unusual schemes to arise from the
housing crisis. In return for allowing the front of their four-bedroom
house to become a garish advertisement, the Hostetlers are getting their
nearly $2,000 monthly mortgage paid by the marketing company behind the
project, Brainiacs From Mars.

In a
residential neighborhood without heavy traffic, cars passing by the
house slowed and drivers gawked at the vivid colors and a giant
Brainiacs From Mars billboard.

Romeo
Mendoza, the company's founder and CEO, told Reuters that his ultimate
goal is to turn 1,000 homes across the United States into giant
advertisements for his marketing firm.

And in each case struggling homeowners will get their mortgage paid, for up to a year.